Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1990
Tornado Warning 59, NWS Fort Worth, TX
NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1990, 4:04 PM CDT for McLennan County, Texas. It was in force for 56 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 18, 1990, 4:04 PM CDT (21:04 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1990, 5:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 56 min
- Issued by
- NWS Fort Worth, TX
- Area
- Whole counties
County McLennan County, TX
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 4:25 PM CDT | Tornado F2 | Mclennan, TX |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.
The nearest sounding before it
Stephenville/Cla, TX (KSEP), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 113 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -320 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1186 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 35 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KACT 182106 TORACT TXC309-182200- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WACO TX 404 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WACO HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS ...MCLENNAN COUNTY AT 405 PM CDT A FUNNEL WAS SPOTTED JUST WEST OF WACO REGIONAL AIRPORT MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YrOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 18, 1:39 PM CDT, 2 hours 25 minutes before
TXZ031-037-181935- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WACO TX 135 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990 AT 130 PM CDT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN... EXTENDED WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BRENHAM TO 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF STEPHENVILLE. THE AREA EXTENDED WESTWARD TO A LINE FROM NEAR BROWNWOOD TO SOUTH OF AUSTIN. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS OCCURRING OVER CORYELL COUNTY SOUTH OF GATESVILLE AND EXTREME EASTERN LAMPASAS COUNTY 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF LAMPASAS. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS IN CORYELL COUNTY SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR BRIEF VERY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR TO LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS.
Special weather statement, May 18, 2:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
TX025-182030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 220 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990 AT 215 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTHEAST OF COMANCHE. ANEOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS JUST SOUTHWEST OF COMANCHE. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAINS. STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER STATEMENTS.
Special weather statement, May 18, 2:56 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
TXZ031-037-182055- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WACO TX 250 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR CORYELL COUNTY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT... ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR BELL...BOSQUE... BRAZOS...CORYELL...FALLS...HILL...MCLENNAN...ROBERTSON...GRIMES... WASHINGTON AND MILAM COUNTIES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHCENTRAL TEXAS... AT 240 PM CDT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 25 MILES EAST OF GEORGETOWN TO NEAR GATESVILLE TO 20 MILES SOUTH OF STEPHENVILLE. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS OVER EXTREME NORTHERN WILLIAMSON COUNTY NORTHWEST OF GRANGER...AND 5 MILES EAST OF GATESVILLE IN CORYELL COUNTY AND ON THE BOSQUE/HAMILTON COUNTY LINE SOUTHWEST OF MERIDIAN. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS IN BELL...CORYELL AND BOSQUE COUNTIES SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST IN WEATHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, May 18, 3:12 PM CDT, 52 minutes before
TX025-026-182130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 310 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990 AT 305 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED DEVELOPING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER EASTERN COMANCHE AND WESTERN ERATH COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUST%Y WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAINS. STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR LATER STATEMENTS.
Special weather statement, May 18, 3:42 PM CDT, 22 minutes before
TXZ031-037-182140- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WACO TX 340 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR BELL...BOSQUE... BRAZOS...CORYELL...FALLS...HILL...MCLENNAN...ROBERTSON...GRIMES... WASHINGTON AND MILAM COUNTIES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHCENTRAL TEXAS... AT 335 PM CDT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED NORTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM NORTHWEST OF HOUSTON TO NEAR GEORGETOWN TO 15 MILES EAST OF COMANCHE. THE AREA EXTENDED TO A LINE FROM NORTH OF HOUSTON TO NORTHWEST OF CROCKETT TO NEAR WAXAHACHIE. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS OCCURRING OVER ROBERTSON COUNTY NEAR FRANKLIN...OVER MCLENNAN COUNTY 10 MILES WEST OF WACO AND OVER NORTHEAST LEON COUNTY 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF CENTERVILLE. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS IN MCLENNAN...ROBERSTON AND LEON COUNTIES SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEUATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST IN WEATHER INFORMATION.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Fort Worth, TX issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Coryell | 57 min |
| May 18, 4:26 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FWD | Hill | 64 min |
| May 18, 5:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | McLennan | 25 min |
| May 18, 6:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Bosque | 44 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Texas, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.